[Luxury World] "100 Million Won Department Store VIP Parking Pass for 800,000 Won" Regular Customers at This Time of Year 'Carrot'

Trading Department Store VIP Parking Passes on Secondhand Sites
Prices Range from 700,000 to 1,300,000 KRW
Department Store "Strengthening Monitoring, Limited Effectiveness of Comment Guidance"

'Unlimited valet parking at all Lotte Department Store branches. 2024.1.1~2024.12.31 800,000 KRW'

Department store VIP parking passes are popular items on secondhand trading sites around the year-end and New Year. Parking passes provided to customers who have spent tens of millions of won or more at department stores are being illegally traded. Although the department store’s operational departments are strengthening monitoring to prevent unauthorized transfer to third parties for money, it is insufficient to completely block all transactions.

On the 1st, on the secondhand trading site Junggonara, VIP parking passes for Lotte, Shinsegae, and Hyundai Department Stores were found to be traded from as low as 700,000 KRW to as high as 1,300,000 KRW. On the secondhand trading app Danggeun, posts selling department store VIP parking passes were also frequently found. Although it varies by department store, the department store grade is confirmed every year at the end or beginning of the year, and those who have already met the grade conditions are attempting to trade VIP parking passes on secondhand trading platforms to sell them.

Department store VIP parking passes are one of the VIP benefits given when a customer spends a certain amount annually at the department store. Depending on the grade, customers can receive valet parking service in addition to one free parking per day.

The reason parking passes are frequently sold among VIP benefits is that they can solve the chronic parking shortage in the heart of Seoul. Annual all-day passes are traded around 800,000 KRW, which is much cheaper than paid parking lots that cost 150,000 to 200,000 KRW per month.

For this reason, Hyundai Department Store’s VIP parking passes, which have stores in major commercial districts and downtown Seoul, are sold at much higher prices than other department stores’ passes. While Lotte Department Store and Shinsegae Department Store passes are priced in the 700,000 to 900,000 KRW range, Hyundai Department Store’s VIP parking passes, which have stores in key locations such as Yeouido, Mokdong, Sindorim, Apgujeong, and Gangnam Trade Center, are priced high, ranging from a minimum of 900,000 KRW to a maximum of 1,300,000 KRW. The transfer method is not difficult either. You just transfer the parking sticker and change the registered vehicle for parking.

Lotte Department Store applies the membership criteria changed last year. The highest grade, AvenueL Black, and the grade below it, Emerald, provide valet parking and free parking tickets during business hours. The Black grade is selected based on internal criteria, and the Emerald grade requires spending over 100 million KRW. The next grade, Purple, allows free parking only if spending exceeds 60 million KRW; otherwise, only 5 hours of free parking per day is allowed. The Orange grade allows 3 hours of free parking per day.

At Shinsegae Department Store, only the top 999 customers by purchase performance, called Trinity members, receive valet parking and all-day free parking services. The next grades, Diamond and Platinum, receive 5 hours of free parking per day. Hyundai Department Store offers valet and 3 hours of free parking benefits with two passes for Jasmine Black and one pass for Jasmine Blue and Jasmine grades, including the member.

Department stores strictly prohibit the illegal trading of VIP parking passes. They continuously monitor and, if caught, cancel the grade benefits, imposing disadvantages on both sellers and buyers. A department store industry official said, "It is impossible to check every performance individually, and although we monitor as many posts as possible, only a portion is caught," adding, "The operational departments are troubled by this, and although monitoring is strengthened, there is no perfect solution."